Antigua and Barbuda 1981 Constitution

CHAPTER VI. FINANCE

90. Consolidated Fund

All revenues or other monies raised or received by Antigua and Barbuda (not being revenues or other monies that are payable, by or under any law for the time being in force in Antigua and Barbuda, into some other fund established for a specific purpose) shall be paid into and form a Consolidated Fund.

91. Withdrawals from Consolidated Fund or other public funds

1. No monies shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except-
   1. to meet expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by this Constitution or by any law enacted by Parliament; or
   2. where the issue of those monies has been authorised by an appropriation law or by a law made in pursuance of section 93 of this Constitution.
2. Where any monies are charged by this Constitution or any law enacted by Parliament upon the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund, they shall be paid out of that fund by the Government to the person or authority to whom payment is due.
3. No monies shall be withdrawn from any public fund other than the Consolidated Fund unless the issue of those monies has been authorised by or under a law enacted by Parliament.
4. There shall be such provision as may be made by Parliament prescribing the manner in which withdrawals may be made from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund.
5. The investment of monies forming part of the Consolidated Fund shall be made in such a manner as may be prescribed by or under a law enacted by Parliament.
6. Notwithstanding the provision of subsection (1) of this section, provision may be made by or under a law enacted by Parliament authorising withdrawals to be made from the Consolidated Fund, in such circumstances and to such extent as may be prescribed by or under a law enacted by Parliament, for the purpose of making repayable advances.

92. Authorisation of Expenditure from Consolidated Fund by appropriation law

1. The Minister for the time being responsible for finance shall cause to be prepared and laid before the House before, or not later than ninety days after, the commencement of each financial year, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of Antigua and Barbuda for that financial year.
2. When the estimates of expenditure (other than expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund by this Constitution or by any law enacted by Parliament) have been approved by the House, a bill to be known as an appropriation bill shall be introduced in the House, providing for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to meet that expenditure and the appropriation of those sums, under separate votes for the several services required, for the purposes specified therein.
3. If in respect of any financial year it is found-
   1. that the amount appropriated by the appropriation law for any purpose is insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose to which no amount has been appropriated by that law; or
   2. that any monies have been expended for any purpose in excess of the amount appropriated for that purpose by the appropriation law or for a purpose to which no amount has been appropriated by that law,

   a supplementary estimate showing the sums required or spent shall be laid before the House and, when the supplementary estimate has been approved by the House, a supplementary appropriation bill shall be introduced in the House providing for the issue of such sums from the Consolidated Fund and appropriating them to the purposes specified therein.

93. Authorisation of expenditure in advance of appropriation

There shall be such provision as may be made by Parliament under which, if the appropriation law in respect of any financial year has not come into operation by the beginning of that financial year, the Minister for the time being responsible for finance may authorise the withdrawal of monies from the Consolidated Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government until the expiration of four months from the beginning of that financial year or the coming into operation of the law, whichever is the earlier.

94. Contingencies Fund

1. There shall be such provision as may be made by Parliament for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund, and for authorising the Minister for the time being responsible for finance, if satisfied that there has arisen an urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists, to make advances from that Fund to meet that need.
2. Where any advance is made from the Contingencies Fund, a supplementary estimate shall as soon as possible be laid before the House and when the supplementary estimate has been approved by the House, a supplementary appropriation bill shall be introduced as soon as possible in the House for the purpose of replacing the amount so advanced.

95. Remuneration of certain officers

1. There shall be paid to the holders of the offices to which this section applies such salaries and such allowances as may be prescribed by or under any law enacted by Parliament.
2. The salaries and allowances prescribed in pursuance of this section in respect of the holders of the offices to which this section applies shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.
3. The salary prescribed in pursuance of this section in respect of the holder of any office to which this section applies and his other terms of service (other than allowances that are not taken into account in computing, under any law in that behalf, any pension payable in respect of his service in that office) shall not be altered to his disadvantage after his appointment.
4. When a person’s salary or other terms of service depend upon his option, the salary or terms for which he opts shall, for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, be deemed to be more advantageous to him than any other for which he might have opted.
5. This section applies to the offices of the Governor-General, member of the Public Service Commission, member of the Police Service Commission, member of the Public Service Board of Appeal, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director of Audit, the Ombudsman and the Supervisor of Elections.
6. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prejudicing the provisions of section 109 of this Constitution (which protects pensions rights in respect of service as a public officer).

96. Public debt

1. All debt charges for which Antigua and Barbuda is liable shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.
2. For the purposes of this section debt charges include interest, sinking fund charges, the repayment or amortization of debt and all expenditure in connection with the raising of loans on the security of the Consolidated Fund and the service and redemption of the debt created thereby.

97. Audit of public accounts etc

1. There shall be a Director of Audit whose office shall be a public office.
2. The Director of Audit shall-
   1. satisfy himself that all monies that have been appropriated by Parliament and disbursed have been applied to the purposes to which they were so appropriated and that the expenditure conforms to the authority that governs it; and
   2. at least once every year audit and report on the public accounts of Antigua and Barbuda, the accounts of all officers and authorities of the Government, the accounts of all courts of law in Antigua and Barbuda (including any accounts of the Supreme Court maintained in Antigua and Barbuda), the accounts of every Commission established by this Constitution and the accounts of the Clerk to the House and the Clerk to the Senate.
3. The Director of Audit shall have power to carry out audits of the accounts, balance sheets and other financial statements of all enterprises that are owned or controlled by or on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda.
4. The Director of Audit and any other officer authorised by him shall have access to all books, records, returns, reports and other documents which in his opinion relate to any of the accounts referred to in subsections (2) and (3) of this section.
5. The Director of Audit shall submit every report made by him in pursuance of this section to the Minister for the time being responsible for finance who shall, after receiving such report, lay it before the House not later than seven days after the House next meets.
6. If the Minister fails to lay a report before the House in accordance with the provisions of subsection (5) of this section the Director of Audit shall transmit copies of that report to the Speaker who shall, as soon as practicable, present them to the House.
7. The Director of Audit shall exercise such other functions in relation to the accounts of the Government, the accounts of other authorities or bodies established by law for public purposes or the accounts of enterprises that are owned or controlled by or on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda as may be prescribed by or under any law enacted by Parliament.
8. In the exercise of his functions under subsection (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of this section, the Director of Audit shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

98. Public Accounts Committee

The House shall, at the commencement of each session, appoint a Public Accounts Committee from among its members, one of whom shall be a member for Barbuda in the House, whose duties shall be to consider the accounts referred to in section 97(2) of this Constitution in conjunction with the report of the Director of Audit and in particular to report to the House-

1. in the case of any excess or unauthorised expenditure of public funds the reasons for such expenditure; and
2. any measures it considers necessary in order to ensure that public funds are properly spent,

and any other such duties relating to public accounts as the House may from time to time direct.